Divine Provision or Diminished Sovereignty
Journal 2005 07 18
Divine Provision or Diminished Sovereignty
High winds hindered the progress of the expedition since leaving Upper Camp after the grueling but successful portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri. What the Captains had expected to take days at most required weeks of all-out effort to complete. The process brought into question every piece of gear deemed necessary to the fulfillment of their mission. Never totally sure, never totally satisfied, however always proceeding on.
A shoulder separation (expertly attended to), an injured hand (allowed time to heal), and many blisters, cuts and bruises on feet (attended to as required) indicates the severity of the work of the portage. Lewis had noted in July that the men “all appear perfectly to have made up their minds to succeed in the expedition or purish in the attempt.”
The Corp of Discovery is now leaving the area of Great Falls, MT headed dead west by compass reckoning. Traversing the river highway turns eight compass miles into eighteen river miles. The river was still the easiest method for gear and people to be transported as proved by the portage across the undeveloped landscape. I-90 hadn’t been built yet!
After high winds blow the temperature reaches and stays in the eighties for several days straight. The men enjoy the ripening fruit of the prairie in currants and sunflower seeds. Indians added sunflower seeds to a type of bread which Lewis “found pleasing”.
Our “modern” world insulates us from the provision of the natural world, the world created by God when He set the stars in place and formed the garden where mankind was intended to live. Please don’t mistake these comments as from one seeking to fulfill false religious desires to live in harmony with the earth. I believe we are to rule and subdue the earth as stewards of what the Lord has given us charge over. My comments today are directed toward His provision over us.
These men have traveled 1,500 miles from St. Louis, Missouri to Great Falls, Montana and are still shedding cargo as they find provision along the journey. Several caches of equipment were left again in the Upper and Lower Camp areas as the men learned they were laden with burdens that hindered their completion of their trip. Food appeared to be in abundance along the trail. Rifles, lead and powder where the tools required for easy harvest. Clothes were made from the skins of the animals. Transportation from the trees.
In spite of the hardships required of any great work, do we see the provision of God? Can you carry enough provisions to last for the whole journey? Not if are going far or for long! The Corp of Discovery found bounty in the earth. We find bounty at Larry’s Market. We don’t need to have a wilderness experience to see God’s provision through His creation. We need to continue to “lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” and look to His promise of daily provision rather than self-reliance and the accompanying diminishing of His sovereign rule over us.
Divine Provision or Diminished Sovereignty
High winds hindered the progress of the expedition since leaving Upper Camp after the grueling but successful portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri. What the Captains had expected to take days at most required weeks of all-out effort to complete. The process brought into question every piece of gear deemed necessary to the fulfillment of their mission. Never totally sure, never totally satisfied, however always proceeding on.
A shoulder separation (expertly attended to), an injured hand (allowed time to heal), and many blisters, cuts and bruises on feet (attended to as required) indicates the severity of the work of the portage. Lewis had noted in July that the men “all appear perfectly to have made up their minds to succeed in the expedition or purish in the attempt.”
The Corp of Discovery is now leaving the area of Great Falls, MT headed dead west by compass reckoning. Traversing the river highway turns eight compass miles into eighteen river miles. The river was still the easiest method for gear and people to be transported as proved by the portage across the undeveloped landscape. I-90 hadn’t been built yet!
After high winds blow the temperature reaches and stays in the eighties for several days straight. The men enjoy the ripening fruit of the prairie in currants and sunflower seeds. Indians added sunflower seeds to a type of bread which Lewis “found pleasing”.
Our “modern” world insulates us from the provision of the natural world, the world created by God when He set the stars in place and formed the garden where mankind was intended to live. Please don’t mistake these comments as from one seeking to fulfill false religious desires to live in harmony with the earth. I believe we are to rule and subdue the earth as stewards of what the Lord has given us charge over. My comments today are directed toward His provision over us.
These men have traveled 1,500 miles from St. Louis, Missouri to Great Falls, Montana and are still shedding cargo as they find provision along the journey. Several caches of equipment were left again in the Upper and Lower Camp areas as the men learned they were laden with burdens that hindered their completion of their trip. Food appeared to be in abundance along the trail. Rifles, lead and powder where the tools required for easy harvest. Clothes were made from the skins of the animals. Transportation from the trees.
In spite of the hardships required of any great work, do we see the provision of God? Can you carry enough provisions to last for the whole journey? Not if are going far or for long! The Corp of Discovery found bounty in the earth. We find bounty at Larry’s Market. We don’t need to have a wilderness experience to see God’s provision through His creation. We need to continue to “lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” and look to His promise of daily provision rather than self-reliance and the accompanying diminishing of His sovereign rule over us.
posted by @2007 Dick Cinkovich | 11:51 AM
|
0 comments
